What a weekend it was!

Last weekend was fun. It was thanksgiving long weekend here. And every day was well spent! On Saturday we went to watch the fall colors alongside Lake Simcoe, passing the towns of Barrie, Jacksons Point, Orillia and Sutton. I will add the pictures and more details in the next post.

Sunday, we hosted a party for some of N’s classmates and their wives. Actually his classmates and their wives are the close friends we have in Toronto. We get together once in awhile randomly at someone’s place either on birthdays or any other special occasions. The parties don’t happen very often simply, because they are doing their MBA. The wives earn and manage the family, which of course we are very proud of. :)

Anyway, the point is that this is the first time; we are hosting it at our place since they started school, a little more than a year ago. I would again like to think of the delay as just a coincidence. And most importantly, I had never cooked for more than five people when they were going to be 10 of them. So, my confidence level was somewhat low. However, the menu I had prepared was quite extensive.

Vegetable fried Wantons, Paneer Tikka and Beef fry for Starters. Masala Rice, Daal, Kadai Paneer and Chicken Fry for main dish. White chocolate brownie topped with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream for dessert. Drinks were N’s department. I don’t eat Beef, but wanted to prepare it for the beef lovers.

Most of them are vegetarians, that being the reason for more veggie items. All the items were my recipes except for the brownies, which was taken from Tartelette. The preparations for the party began on Saturday morning. I went to the Indian store and bought lots of Paneer. After shopping, we went for the fall colors trip. In the night, I baked the brownie and cooked the meat so, I just had to fry the meat and prepare the rest of the items the next day. To my surprise, everything turned out well. I wish I had taken pictures of the final served items. The brownies looked exactly like Tartelette’s. Check out the picture here.

Everyone reached an hour and a half later than they promised. That was good in a way since I got to take rest after a full day’s cooking. Ok I got to admit that I started cooking on Sunday morning at 11.30. And it went on till 5.30pm. Oh I almost forgot, I also cleaned the apartment in between. Cooking is one way for me to destress, so I enjoyed the entire effort. To top it all, the compliments I received put me on cloud nine. Come on, who does not enjoy getting compliments? :)

Everyone enjoyed the food and the party was such a big success. We played some games at first. Soon enough people started dancing. That really surprised and made me happy at the same time. Wow I never had seen that before in the other parties we went. So, in essence, maybe, this party gave them all something more than the usual. I was the DJ. The apartment was bustling with both Hindi and English music. We had so much of fun. I am still contemplating on posting the dance videos here in the blog. :)
Wicked me!

By 4am everyone left and Monday was supposedly rest day. Somehow, when you had so much over the weekend, it is hard to sleep for too long. Maybe that is why we went for brunch with my parents and the rest of the family. After all, you should do at least something with your own family on Thanksgiving Day, right?

Have fun and wait for the fall colors pictures. :)

Back to Toronto!

We came back to Toronto on the 3rd of September. Now, you may all wonder what took me so long to post. Well, I have to just say that it is better late than never! So here we are, back to ‘our home away from home’. Hmm...Why do I call it like that?

My sister’s wedding was on August 16. It was very beautiful. The entire function and the day. She looked gorgeous and we were all proud of her. I stood by her side to make sure it was her happiest day. At the end of it, somewhere in me, I had an inexplicable feeling. It started when it was time for her to leave to her in-laws. A feeling like a part of me was going away. Oh don’t get me wrong here. Definitely it was such a heart warming experience to see her get married to her love. They do look good together and love each other a lot. I know for sure that she will be very happy and also taken care of very well. However, something was bothering me. Like I said earlier, I did not really know what, back then.

Now when I look back I can easily consider few things. It could be the fact that from then on, she had to stay with her in-laws more than her own family. Something, like I would not be able to be close with her as earlier. Or that, she has to get adjusted to new surroundings and new people. All of this until they go back to their own apartment, in another city where they both work. It was almost like she was being uprooted from her own family and put into new one. One, which she would have to live with, more than the other one. If only the Indian tradition could be changed. Like instead of the girl moving to her in-laws, the guy should move to the girl’s place. :)

I think now most of my uneasiness has gone away or is slowly fading away. Maybe it helps to see her happy and enjoying married life. She is also going to be here in Toronto for a short while.

So the 40 days vacation we had gave me a lot. Some reality checks, some sadness, a lot of happiness and most importantly the feeling of being ‘at home’.

After all, home is where the heart is, isn’t it?

Have a nice weekend!